Though I was only gone for a week, I saw and did a ton while abroad. To break it down into bitesize pieces, I thought I'd blog about a day or two of the trip at a time - so be sure to check back all week for more!
Wednesday, January 4 & Thursday, January 5 - TRAVEL DAYS
I left Quincy on Wednesday morning on the 6:12 a.m. Amtrak, destination - La Grange Road. Since my flight wasn't until Wednesday evening, I got to spend all day hanging out with my cousins Hannah, Ike and Elise. We had a great day together! I spent most of the day with Elise, and she helped me burn off some energy before sitting on a plane for a million hours. We took the dog for a walk, rode scooters, and she even taught me to ripstik and pogo stick. SO FUN!
Later in the evening, Uncle John drove me to O'Hare International Airport to catch my 9:05 p.m. flight on Turkish Airlines, headed for Istanbul, Turkey. We flew for a long 9 hours & 45 minutes, and went forward 8 hours in time, meaning we landed around 2 p.m. local time on Thursday afternoon. The flight really wasn't terrible, but I was glad to have a two hour layover to stretch my legs and fill up on free samples of Turkish Delight - pretty tasty stuff! Then it was off for Tel Aviv, ISRAEL! We sat on the runway for an hour before takeoff (grr..) but once we were in the air, it was just two short hours before we were on the ground in Israel!  |
| It's harder than it looks!! |
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| But Elise is a total pro! |
Getting through customs was a breeze, and before I knew it, I was outside breathing in the air of the Holy Land. Per Joanne's detailed instructions, I looked for the sheirut (shared ride - ie, a 10-passenger van/shuttle) to Jerusalem. Unfortunately the sheiruts only leave when they're at capacity, so we sat for 45 minutes waiting to fill all 10 seats. And then, of course, Joanne's apartment was the last stop, so I rode around the winding roads from the airport, through the mountain-top city of Jerusalem for 90 minutes.
FINALLY - just before 11 p.m. local time Thursday night - I made it to Joanne's apartment in the heart of Jerusalem! As part of my plan to hit the ground running, I changed clothes and we headed straight for downtown. With Joanne's birthday just a few days away, she had gathered a group of friends to meet up and celebrate with drinks at The Lion's Den. It was great meeting many of the friends I'd heard Jo talk so much about! ..but after a couple hours, I was beyond pooped and ready to get some sleep.
Speaking of pooped and needing some sleep -- I think jet lag is catching up with me again! I know this post really told you nothing about my trip, but stay posted! I promise it will get much more interesting :)
Up next: Our Friday of failure. Shabbat dinner. Sea of Galilee. Nazareth. And much, much more!
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